Four Ways to Avoid Foreclosure

 

 

Question: What are some of the ways of avoiding foreclosure?

 

Answer: If you have a home that is going into foreclosure soon, you should seriously consider what your options are before making any decisions.

Following are some of the issues to be considered and questions you may need to have answers for:

 

• Knowing how much time you have to avoid foreclosure may be useful in knowing what options you still have to consider.
• How far behind on the payments are you and have you already been notified of a scheduled foreclosure sale?
• Do you know how to find out if your house is on the foreclosure sale and how long it is until that date?
• Have you talked with your lender seriously about loan modification options and how you might qualify to have your loan modified?
• Have you researched reputable websites about your foreclosure options for your particular state (remember each state is different)?
• Do you have a lot of time before the foreclosure sale, so that you might try selling your house on the retail market?
• Have you contacted reputable foreclosure investors for no obligation offers to sell your house?
• If there is not enough equity to buy your house outright for cash, have you discussed investors assuming your payments?
• If you need more time to sell the house, can you provide a sales contract with a closing date to your bank?
• Does it seem like they are willing to work with you on a payment program, or would they rather foreclose?

 

You may also discuss these questions with investors you contact and see if they have suggestions for you, or whether they are prepared to buy your property outright.

Remember, time is important in your ability to avoid a foreclosure, as the longer you ignore it, the less options you will have to consider.

 

 

Sell your house to an investor foreclosure buyer.

 

If you decide you will not be able to make up the payments and keep the house, then selling your house to an investor who buys houses fast may be the solution for you.

Hopefully you can make your decisions while you still have sufficient time for these different options, as it will take some time to find an investor to buy and close.

You can start getting no obligation offers from investors by submitting the form on this page, note that we do not have investors who purchase in all cities, or states.

 

 

Sell your house to a short sale buyer.

 

The biggest problem with trying to sell a property going into foreclosure is that more often than not, there is not enough equity in the house to be purchased to interest a buyer.

For an investor buyer to purchase a foreclosure property they will need to consider a reasonable profit and risk margin to make a deal doable.

In this case an investor who specializes in negotiating with banks and buying short sales may be a workable alternative, however many are not patient enough for the considerable time and negotiation this requires.

There are both pro’s and con’s to have your property sold and loan shorted with the bank, the debt will likely still be recorded against your credit, but at least it will not be a foreclosure.

 

 

Negotiate a loan modification with your lender.

 

Inquiring with your mortgage company about a loan modification and whether you can qualify for a modification program, could be a very good option to try for some.

Certainly there will be requirements to qualify for most loan modifications, such as providing proof of reduced income, financial hardship, loss of employment, etc.

Your mortgage lender should be able to answer you about what might be required, or where you can get that information and then schedule an appointment to proceed.

If you find that you do not qualify, or your lender will not discuss these options with you, than the following assistance programs would be the next place to get information.

 

 

Get foreclosure assistance from a government program.

 

Following are sites where you can find foreclosure assistance information & find out what type of foreclosure help you may be eligible for.

The following Web sites include valuable information for borrowers regardless of whether you are eligible for this settlement:

 

• Making Home Affordable An official program of the Departments of the Treasury & Housing and Urban Development
• US Department of HUD, information on avoiding foreclosure
• HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agencies
• The Independent Foreclosure Review
• The IRS Mortgage Forgiveness, Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation
• Support and Guidance for Homeowners